Olivier Fleurot, CEO of the Financial Times Group which has a stake in Business Standard said that FT would operate in the English Business Reporting space responding to queries about opportunities of growth in Indian Vernacular media.
Fleurot was on his first visit to India after FT’s investment in Business Standard and was at an industry gathering hosted by CII. Fleurot also launched a FT special on India in the form of a supplement titled "India and globalisation". On being asked what his priority was Fleurot said that it would be to print and publish an edition in India rather than flying copies from Dubai.
Fleurot also shared his views on the future of newspapers and said the newspaper was no longer just a newspaper but a global source of credible information. He also commented that internet editions of newspapers had become very important because of internet’s unique advantages. According to him Internet’s three unique advantages were that it started as a world standard, its interactivity and its immediateness. Fleurot also talked about how mobility was effecting news consumption.
Fleurot also talked about FT’s experience in other countries like Germany where FT publishes a German language newspaper and Russia where FT has a JV with Dow Jones.
